Metal mixtures in pregnant women and umbilical cord blood at urban populations-Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

This study aims to assess interrelationships between serum lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), and mercury (Hg) concentrations in pregnant women in their third trimester and umbilical cord blood, while inter-metal correlations were also determined. This study is part of the PIPA project (Childhood and Environmental Pollutant Project), whose pilot study was carried out from October 2017 to August 2018 and will be presented here. Blood samples were obtained from 117 mother-umbilical cord pairs and analyzed concerning metal concentrations. A positive correlation was found between metal concentrations in mother and cord blood (R > 0.7, p < 0.001). The results indicate that mother metal concentrations are able to determine child metal concentrations (p < 0.001). The correlations between maternal blood metal concentrations were positive for all assessed metals except for As and Hg. The strongest correlations in this matrix were observed between Cd and Pb (R = 0.471 p = 0.000), Cd and Hg (R = 0.425 p = 0.000), and Pb and Hg (R = 0.427 p = 0.000). Umbilical cord correlations were lower compared to mother blood correlations. In general, the four analyzed metals displayed significant correlations to serum concentrations in both maternal and cord blood.

Rio Birth Cohort Study on Environmental Exposure and Childhood Development - PIPA Project.

Background/Objective: As a developing country, Brazil presents a wide range of environmental risks that can constitute hazards to child health. The country also presents different socio-economic-cultural conditions that could be responsible for determining different vulnerability and susceptibility levels for the population, which can potentiate the effects of the environmental pollutants. The Rio Birth Cohort Study (PIPA project) is a prospective maternal-infant health study, hosted in the city of Rio de Janeiro (Southeastern Brazil), designed to investigate separate and combined effects of environmental chemical pollutants, as well as the interactions between these exposures and sociocultural environment and epigenetic patterns. This paper presents the learned lessons and strategies to address the shortcomings detected from this pilot study. Methods: The study population will be all children born at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Maternity Hospital from July 1st, 2020 to June 30th, 2021. The estimated population is of 2,500 children. The study will collect social, demographic, and health information from pregnant women and their children up to four years of age. Biological samples from both mothers and newborns will be collected to assess metal, pesticide and plasticizer exposure. All newborns will have their landmarks of physical, neurological, psychological, and cognitive development recorded at specific ages. Findings: A pilot study was carried out between September 2017 and August 2018, totaling 142 enrolled pregnant women, leading to 135 (95%) births and the collection of umbilical cord (126-93%,) and mother (139-98%) blood samples, as well as both mother (142-100%) and newborn (54-40%) urine samples and newborn meconium samples (117-86.7%). Conclusions: The study proposes a comprehensive assessment of pre- and postnatal exposure to environmental chemicals at multiple time points in a population living in a highly urbanized developing country. As far as we know, this is the only birth cohort in Brazil specifically designed for this purpose.

A comparative study of cadmium levels in blood from exposed populations in an industrial area of the Amazon, Brazil.

Chemical pollution from industrial sources is one of the main problems affecting the environment. In urban areas, the emission of toxic gases and particulates to the atmosphere can damage human health. Cadmium (Cd) is one of the most ecotoxic metals among these pollutants, even at low concentrations. In this study, environmental exposure to Cd was evaluated from the Cd blood levels (CdB) of the human populations living in two Amazonian districts. The first was Bairro Industrial (BIN), which is located next to the industrial complex in Barcarena City, while the second was Vila do Beja (VBJ), a control group located in the farthest area from industrial activities in Abaetetuba City. Sectional and comparative studies were applied for both districts. Sampling (N = 469) occurred in 2012 and 2013. Gender, age, residence time, drinking water source, alcohol consumption, and smoking were used as independent variables. CdB levels were analyzed by induced coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). In BIN, geometric mean and median CdB levels were 0.27 and 0.43 µg∙L-1, respectively (range: ≤0.03-17.49 µg∙L-1), while in VBJ these were 0.19 and 0.23 µg∙L-1 (range: ≤0.03-2.38 µg∙L-1). The higher CdB concentration in the blood of people from BIN was similar to levels previously found in people living near other industrial areas, and showed that the BIN residents were more exposed to Cd pollution. The studies showed the need for surveillance actions to evaluate possible routes of exposure, avoiding the future worsening of the health of the population living next to industrial areas in the Amazon.

Development of Environmental Health Indicators for the Child Population: Report on a Brazilian Experience.

BACKGROUND: This report presents the Brazilian experience on the elaboration of a matrix of children's environmental health indicators to the Brazilian Health Surveillance System. This experience was part of a project with the financial support of the Ministry of Health of Brazil to develop appropriate indicators for identification, measuring, and monitoring of the environmental risk factors to the children's health. METHODS: The methodology adopted for the development of the matrix of indicators of children's environmental health to Brazil comprised 3 steps. In the first step, the main causes of morbidity and mortality in the Brazilian population, aged 0-14 years, were identified, according to the data available from the Ministry of Health. The second step consisted of the identification of the Brazilian public-access information systems, with available official data regarding environmental, health, and socioeconomic conditions. In the third step, a preliminary matrix was elaborated. Correlation analyses were done to determine the indicators that would constitute the final matrix. FINDINGS: The selected indicators allowed the identification and surveillance of cancer, injuries, adverse birth outcomes, diarrheic and respiratory diseases, associated with environmental risk factors, in the Brazilian child population. The existing Brazilian official information systems provided data with the necessary quality for the construction of children's environmental health indicators. Nevertheless, some official systems on health information presented limitations related to the data availability over the course of time and timeliness of data capture. Concerning the environmental information, the major limitation was accessibility. CONCLUSIONS: A matrix of indicators of children's environmental health to Brazil can come to contribute to the implementation of a surveillance system of children's exposure to environmental contaminants in Brazil.

Cancer mortality among Brazilian dentists.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have variably shown excess risks of elected cancers among dentists. METHODS: National Brazilian mortality data were used to obtain mortality patterns among dentists between 1996 and 2004. Cancer mortality odds ratios (MORs) and cancer proportional mortality ratios for all cancer sites were calculated, using the general population and physicians and lawyers as comparison groups. RESULTS: Female dentists from both age strata showed higher risks for breast, colon-rectum, lung, brain, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Compared to physicians and lawyers, higher MOR estimates were observed for brain cancer among female dentists 20-49 yr. Among male dentists, higher cancer mortality was found for colon-rectum, pancreas, lung, melanoma, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Higher risk estimates for liver, prostate, bladder, brain, multiple myeloma and leukemia were observed among 50-79 yr old male dentists. DISCUSSION: If confirmed, these results indicate the need for limiting occupational exposures among dentists in addition to establishing screening programs to achieve early detection of selected malignant tumors.

Musculoskeletal disorders among Brazilian dentists.

Dentists are exposed to several occupational risks. This study aimed at comparing the prevalence of referred morbidity among Brazilian dentists with that reported by doctors, lawyers, and the general population. Data on referred morbidity were obtained from the Brazilian Household Survey. Stratification by gender was performed, and prevalence rate ratios were calculated. Dentists were more likely to report back pain and arthritis than physicians or lawyers. Dentists also reported tendinitis more frequently than physicians, lawyers, and the general population. Stratification revealed that, when compared to physicians and lawyers, male dentists were more likely to refer to back pain and arthritis than did female dentists. However, female dentists were at higher risk to report tendinitis when compared to all 3 reference populations. This study suggests that Brazilian dentists are at higher risk to develop musculoskeletal disorders.